Hairball formula foods control hairballs by adding fiber to the diet -- the
fiber is supposed to flush the hair out

i use Laxaire on my cat -- works fairly well in conjunction with hairball
formulated food
"Laura R." wrote in message
.net...
circa Sat, 05 Jul 2003 16:34:53 GMT, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
Caliban ) said,
Hi Cathy,

As it happens, my cat's first tube of hairball remedy was the molasses
(I
think) flavored Petromalt. His second tube is Hartz's salmon flavored
one.
My cat is not keen on either, but it's not a big problem. At least the
drops
he shakes off his paw clean up easily from the carpet.

Try plain ol' vaseline. You could even try mixing it into his food.

After this second tube runs out, I am thinking of trying the butter or
maybe
giving him helpings of canned tuna fish in oil (people version) a few
times
a week.

Feeding tuna or its oil regularly to your cat is generally not a good
idea except as an occasional treat or to stimulate inappetant cats to
eat.

http://sd.essortment.com/nutritioncats_rnsg.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/feline...T/message/7506
http://www.pampered-paws.net/faqcat.htm#faq_04
http://www.vegsource.com/animal/cats...ges/18406.html

The below article debates the toxicity of tuna, and I offer no
statement as to whether or not I agree with it, but note the
information at the end about the oil from canned tuna depleting
vitamin E in cats.

http://www.gorbzilla.com/files%20for...about_tuna.PDF

He was on dried food (Iams mostly) for almost all his life, so perhaps
the
fur he consumed didn't pass because of insufficient oil in his diet.
Diet
variety perhaps helps ensure oil, too? I will have to check the labels
of
the various cat foods and treats designed to prevent hair balls and see
if
they work mostly by adding oil to the diet.


They don't. Some use petrolatum (petroleum jelly) and others use
vegetable fiber. Just because a substance is slippery doesn't mean
it's suitable to treat hairballs.

http://www.purina.com/purinaessentials/faqs.asp#q6

http://tinyurl.com/g3sr

http://tinyurl.com/g3sq

http://www.penmarric.ns.ca/catcare/u.../Hairballs.htm

The single best thing you can do to help prevent hairballs is groom
the cat regularly. The less hair the cat swallows, the less hair
there is to cause irritation in his/her digestive tract.
Supplementing with vegetable-fiber foods, with petrolatum or with
fiber supplements is good, but simply adding fat (butter, oil) to a
cat's diet does just that- adds fat. Cat diets are already pretty
high-fat in comparison to what would be best for humans.

In fact, since you mentioned that your cat ate mostly Iams, check out
the little interactive demo he

http://tinyurl.com/g3t5

Note that what Iams uses for hairball control is cellulose and beet
pulp fiber. Fatty acids (fish oils) are used to add shine to the
coat.

Last, note the warning about oil-based hairball remedies he

http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Dumm...le/id-700.html

Laura